Laura's Law was passed by the California Legislature in 2003, expressly to enable officials to place severely mentally ill people into court-imposed outpatient treatment, even if said treatment is against the patients' will. It's named in honor of Laura Wilcox, a 19-year old who was working at a Nevada County public mental health clinic during her winter break from college when a man who had refused treatment shot her and two others.

Before Laura's Law can be used, however, counties must formally adopt it. Orange County never did. But it is not alone: Of California's 58 counties, only Nevada, where Laura Wilcox died, has embraced it.

The supervisors asked the county Health Care Agency to look into the issue. Last week, the HCA delivered its report -- the day after the deadly shooting spree in Seal Beach.

CONS OUTWEIGH PROS

Laura's Law "has the advantage of providing an additional, though limited, approach to compelling certain individuals to enter treatment. On the other hand, there are significant disadvantages including cost, new and complex requirements, civil liberty issues, and questions of effectiveness," the report says.

Here in O.C., Laura's Law could apply to about 120 severely mentally ill people who pose a danger to themselves or others -- and would cost between $5.7 million to $6.1 million a year, the report says.

That includes what the county would spend through the the Health Care Agency, Public Defender, and County Counsel -- and averages out to some $49,000 per person per year.

There's no special state funding attached to Laura's Law -- so the money would have to come from the county's general fund.

On the plus side, HCA lists two things: Laura's Law provides an additional treatment resource for the community and allows family members to request service; and may help get non-compliant people into treatment.

On the negative side, HCA lists six things: Lack of funding; does not offer any "additional statutory framework" for involuntary treatment that's not already available; limits personal choice; raises serious civil liberty concerns; likely won't provide the family involvement and mandatory taking of medications that proponents hope for; and the jury is still out on whether it works or not.

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